Thousands gather outside PA capitol for March for Life
(ABC 27 WTHM) — The Pennsylvania State Capitol saw one of its biggest crowds of the year on Monday. Monday marks the fifth annual Pennsylvania March for Life. Organizers say it draws six or seven thousand people every year.
Now, the March for Life is holding state-based marches across the country and continues to work to shift the way the culture views the unborn.
People prayed this morning for the fallen York County officers who were killed in the line of duty last week and for conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was gunned down while speaking at a university in Utah two weeks ago. Organizers say security was heightened for this year’s march.
“Charlie brought the message of being pro-life and having babies and getting married as a real positive to young people and you’re going to see at this march, hundreds and hundreds of young people that Charlie would be proud to see,” says President and CEO of the PA Family Institute, Michael Geer.
The event is advocating for SB 973 and HB 606 that would teach early human development in schools.
“I think there is a cultural shift right now among our young people who are really looking for meaning in life, a deeper meaning in life, and I think causes like this point them, direct them to the beauty of human life,” says York Catholic director of faculty and campus ministry Paul Miller.
The march opposes HB 26 that would repeal parts of the Abortion Control Act and replace it with new guidelines that treat abortion like healthcare.
“There are lawmakers who are doing other things to try to expand and create more abortions in our state and then there’s legislation to advance the cause of life, especially in coming to the support of women who are in a situation they don’t know what to do to get the kind of support they need to bring that baby into the world,” Geer says.
Rep. Kinkead (D) Allegheny County says the event marchers for birth more so than life.
“I think that the March for Life being here on the day that we move gun safety legislation is tragically ironic because none of those people came inside to support any gun safety measures,” Kinkead says. “I would love for all of those people to come and address gun violence and support things that actually help to save lives. We have growing food insecurity. We have people dying of preventable diseases.”
It took more than 75 buses to bring the marchers from across Pennsylvania to the State Capitol.
The National Right to Life estimates there have been more than 65 million abortions in the U.S. since 1973.